


worth more than fame

by laurenjauregui



Series: you make me sick (for being so perfect) drafts [14]
Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: F/F, autistic!lauren, yet another ymms draft one shot thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 16:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurenjauregui/pseuds/laurenjauregui
Summary: Lauren doesn't realise that the awkward Karla, who asks for her number at a pizza place, just so happens to be international pop sensation, Camila Cabello.





	worth more than fame

When Lauren’s younger sister, Taylor, tells her that she needs a ride to a concert, Lauren is happy to take her. As long as it’s not too loud by the venue, she will gladly take her and her friends, and pick her up after.

It’s a Camila Cabello concert, and Lauren has never really heard of her much. She knows that one song that’s on the radio a lot, _Havana_ , but it got overplayed really fast, so she’d never listened to her other music.

Lauren drops her sister off, promising to come back at ten thirty, when the concert is supposed to end. Instead of going straight home, however, she decides to stop by her favourite pizza place, and get a slice of pepperoni pizza before she heads home to read.

She wanders into the shop, the only other people there being two girls, one tall, blonde, and smirking, and the other one a petite brunette who’s red in the face. Lauren doesn’t pay any attention to them, because she’s just here to get a slice of pizza and leave.

“Hi, Ally,” Lauren greets her friend – Ally goes to the University of Miami, the same as Lauren, but is a few years ahead of her. “One pepperoni slice with three pepperonis, please.”

Ally smiles at her. “No problem, Lauren. It might be a few minutes, those girls over there just ordered the last of the pepperoni. Are you eating in, or taking out?”

Lauren hums in thought. “I will eat in, and you can come and sit with me to keep me company.”

Ally laughs. “I’m sure my boss won’t mind that. If it’s his favourite customer’s request, of course.”

Lauren smiles, and decides to go and sit at her usual table, shrugging her coat off. She feels a little uncomfortable, because one of the girls on the other occupied table is staring at her, and she doesn’t know what she’s done to elicit that reaction. She wants to ask the girl to stop staring, but she doesn’t know her, so she can’t.

After a few minutes, Ally takes that table their food, and Lauren waits patiently, tapping out a pattern on the table. When she hears a throat cleared next to her, she looks up, expecting Ally, but instead, finds the petite brunette from the other table.

Lauren looks away, uncomfortable with the eye contact with a girl she doesn’t know.

“Uh… hi,” the girl says, and sits down across from her, “listen, I literally _never_ do this, probably because I’m the most awkward person on the planet, but you’re really beautiful and I don’t know? I guess I just wanted to tell you that? And- um, maybe ask to get your number?”

Lauren blinks in surprise, but doesn’t meet the girl’s eyes. “Um… my phone number, you mean?”

“Yeah,” the girl nods, smiling. Lauren is a little reassured, because smiling is good, so that means this girl is nice. “I’m- um, I’m Karla, by the way.”

The girl, _Karla_ , flashes her a nervous smile, but to Lauren, it’s just a smile.

“I am Lauren Michelle Jauregui,” Lauren introduces herself. “And- um… you can have my number, if you’d like, though I don’t understand why.”

“Because I want to call you…” Karla shifts on her seat. “Unless you don’t want me to? I don’t want to come on too strong, like I said, I _never_ do this, but-”

Lauren looks up, and examines the pretty brunette’s face. She decides that she likes Karla, because she smiled, and she’s very beautiful. “You can have my number.”

Karla beams, and pushes her phone across the table. Lauren types her number in, and a few moments later, she gets a text from an unknown number. Karla is quick to explain. “That’s me. I… figured I’d text you, so you’d have my number as well.”

“Oh.” Lauren replies. “Okay then. Is that all?”

“I- um…” Karla looks back over to her friend, the blonde girl, before she glances back at Lauren. “Would you want to come and sit with me and my friend? I mean, we have to go in like… twenty minutes, because we have somewhere to be, but… you can sit and eat with us if you want to.”

“Oh,” Lauren looks over at Ally, who is walking over with her food. When Ally gives her the pizza, Lauren smiles and says. “I am going to sit with this nice girl, Karla, and her friend. She asked for my number, Allycat.”

Karla blushes, and Ally smiles at them both. “That’s sweet. I’ll be over at the counter if you need me, Laur.”

“Okay,” Lauren smiles at Ally, and then picks up her plate and follows Karla over to her table. “What’s your friend’s name?”

“Dinah Jane Hansen,” the blonde girl introduces herself, “hi, mystery hottie. You know, _Karla_ over here was literally drooling over you the second you walked in.”

“Really?” Lauren asks, and Karla blushes even more, if that’s possible. “I thought she was staring in a mean way. I didn’t know people could stare nicely.”

“You noticed that?” Karla blinks in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to look like a creeper. Dinah- um, she kind of pushed me to go over and get your number. Not that I didn’t want to, anyway. You’re- like I said, you’re really cute, and oh god I’m rambling again, why am I like this-”

Dinah snorts. “Way to go, Walz. You get the cute girl’s number and now you’re showing her how awkward you really are.”

“I don’t think she’s awkward.” Lauren says, tapping her hand on her leg. “I think she’s cute, too. People say I’m awkward a lot of the time, but I don’t mean to be awkward.”

Karla smiles and says, “Can I buy you your pizza? Or at least… reimburse you for that one.”

Lauren frowns. “Why?”

“For like… I don’t know, a romantic gesture?” Karla shrugs, smacking Dinah lightly on the arm when she laughs. “God, I’m sorry, I suck at this. Like I said, I don’t usually go up to girls in public and ask them for their numbers.”

“It’s okay.” Lauren replies. “I don’t usually get asked for my number.”

Karla’s phone buzzes, and her face falls. “It’s my mom.”

Dinah frowns. “Do we need to get back to the-”

“Yes,” Karla interrupts before Dinah can finish her sentence, and turns to Lauren with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Like I said, we had somewhere to be, but… um, yeah, we have to go. Can I call you tonight?”

“If you want to.” Lauren smiles, finishing off her slice of pizza. “I am available all evening, unless it is around ten thirty, because I have to pick my sister up from a concert.”

Dinah and Karla exchange a look, and Lauren can’t quite decipher it. After a rather lengthy pause, Dinah smiles at her and asks, “Which concert?”

“The one that’s on down the road at the big arena,” Lauren says, rocking on her seat. “I already forgot the singer’s name, because it’s not really my thing, but my sister likes her, so…”

“Oh, well, uh,” Dinah smirks at Karla, “we’re actually going there right now. We have tickets.”

“You do?” Lauren asks, “Well, um, I’m sorry for saying that the singer isn’t my thing, I am sure she’s very talented.”

Karla flushes a little, before she stands up and points towards the door. “I’ll- uh, text you later. Or call you. Whichever… you want.”

“Oh, okay,” Lauren smiles, “goodbye, Karla. And Dinah. It was nice to meet you both.”

Dinah and Karla disappear out of the pizza place, and Lauren watches after them for a moment, before she smiles to herself and looks down at the new contact in her phone.

-

Lauren gets to the venue early, waiting outside for her sister. She makes sure to send Taylor a text with her exact location, so she’s easy to find, and when her sister comes out, she tries to make conversation with her and her friends. “How was your concert?”

“It was _incredible_.” Taylor gushes. “Best concert of my life.”

“I met two girls who were going to that at the pizza place,” Lauren comments. “They were nice. I hope they had a good time.”

Taylor brushes off Lauren’s comment, and goes into a full scale rant with her friends about the vocals and the instruments. Lauren just drives, humming along to the song on the radio.

-

“I want to call her.”

“Then do it, Walz,” Dinah rolls her eyes, “she was hot and it’s not like she knew who you were. So your problem of people treating you differently is solved.”

Camila keeps pacing. “What if she doesn’t answer?”

“She will,” Dinah tells her. “You told her you’d call, so do it.”

“What if it’s too soon, and she thinks I’m pushy?” Camila asks. “Like, she was _so_ cute, Dinah.”

“There’s nothing stopping you from calling.” Dinah points out. “This was the last show of your tour and you have a few months off. She probably lives here in the city. Call her.”

“Okay, fine,” Camila huffs, and presses the button, putting her phone to her ear. After three rings, Lauren picks up. “Hi. Lauren? It’s- uh, it’s Karla. From the pizza place.”

“ _Hello!_ ” It sounds more like _hallo_ , and Camila instantly melts. “ _I just got home from picking my sister up from that concert. Did you enjoy it? She said she enjoyed it and that it was the best one she’d ever been to.”_

Camila blushes a little. She’d had so much fun performing, and had dedicated one of her songs to _the cute girl she’d embarrassed herself in front of earlier_. “Yeah. I had fun. How was your night?”

 _“I just watched TV.”_ Lauren comments. “ _I rewatched a few episodes of Game of Thrones_. _Anyway, what would you like to talk about? You’re the one who called me.”_

“Oh, um, yeah,” Camila laughs, “I actually… was wondering if you’d want to hang out some time? You know… when we’re both free.”

“ _Okay!”_ Lauren answers, and Camila breathes a sigh of relief. She glares at Dinah, who is smirking at her from across the room. “ _When would you like to meet me_?”

“I mean… I’m free for the next few months,” Camila says, “you pick.”

“ _You could come over to my house and meet my dogs! They’re so cute.”_ Lauren says. “ _I have Dash, who is the older one, and Leo, who is the puppy I got recently. They’re really cuddly, you’ll like them.”_

“Alright,” Camila laughs, a little relieved that Lauren didn’t ask her to go somewhere public. She kind of likes that Lauren doesn’t know who she is. “Sure. And- uh, when do you want to do that?”

“ _You may come over whenever you like_!” Lauren replies. _“I am sorry if I sound a little too enthusiastic, I just haven’t made a new friend in a long time. The last friend I made was Mani, in my freshman year of college.”_

“You’re in college?” Camila asks. “What year are you in?”

 _“I start my junior year in the fall. I just turned twenty a few weeks ago.”_ Lauren tells her. _“Why? How old are you?”_

“I’m nineteen,” Camila replies, “Not in college, though. I’m- uh… working.”

“ _Oh, that’s nice,”_ Lauren responds. “ _What do you do?”_

Not wanting to answer that just yet, Camila quickly makes an excuse to hang up. “Sorry, Lauren, I have to go. I’ll text you in a few minutes, my mom wants something. But, um… do you want to go on a… a date? You know, before I come to your house?”

“ _Okay, that would be nice. You can text me to organise.”_ Lauren answers, “ _goodbye, Camila_.”

“Bye,” Camila replies, hanging up the phone and turning to Dinah with wide eyes. “She said I can go to her house and meet her dogs.”

“Oh my god,” Dinah laughs, “you’re already meeting her kids. I guess the U-Haul rumours are true. Lesbians go fast.”

Camila rolls her eyes. “Shut up. For all I know, she could be straight. Like, she seemed pretty naïve, maybe she thinks I just want to be friends.  Maybe she thinks it’s a friendship date.”

Dinah snorts. “You’re literally the _only_ person that would happen to.”

“I mean, she said she’s also kind of awkward, right?” Camila asks, and Dinah nods in confirmation. “Maybe I should just… be direct? Tell her _hey, I’m not looking for friendship, I kind of want to make out with you_. Or something along those lines.”

Dinah laughs. “Honestly, Mila… either way, it’d be funny.”

“Funny for _you_ ,” Camila argues. “Not for me.”

A few moments later, her phone pings, and she looks to see a text from Lauren with her address that reads, _feel free to come over whenever! I’ll be here. And we need to pick a time for our date! I’m looking forward to seeing you._

-

“Hi.”

Camila bites down on her bottom lip, moving aside to let Lauren in. “Hey. Sorry we’re not… you know, going _out_. Like- like, to a restaurant or something. I just thought it might be more… intimate. To do this.”

 _And, you know, I don’t want our date interrupted by screaming fans,_ Camila speaks, but she doesn’t voice that. She likes that Lauren doesn’t know she’s _famous._ She likes that Lauren treats her like a normal person. She feels a little bad that she’s lying, but it’s not _technically_ lying. It’s just obstruction of truth.

“Okay,” Lauren hums, tapping against her leg. “Did you cook?”

“I thought we could… do that together?” Camila says, but it’s more like a question. “I can’t really use kitchen appliances without adult supervision.”

Lauren hums, taking her shoes off. “I thought you were nineteen. That’s an adult.”

“No, I mean,” Camila laughs a little, “I’m not good with ovens. I’d probably burn the place down if I didn’t have someone helping me.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I will help you, Karla,” Lauren says, and Camila cringes, not used to people calling her by her first name. Lauren picks up on it. “What’s wrong?”

“I actually, uh, go by my middle name,” Camila quickly explains, hoping that this won’t ruin anything. “Camila.”

“Oh,” Lauren pauses, humming. “Camila. _Camila._ Camz. I like it.”

Camila blushes at the nickname. “I- um, yeah… so… I just- um, want to make my intentions clear. With you.”

“Intentions?” Lauren asks, frowning at her. “Okay. What do you intend to do today?”

“No, um, not just today,” Camila says, “I mean, like… I intend to- well, this is a _date_. Like, a _date_ date. As in, I don’t want to be your friend, I want to kiss your neck.”

“Is that a _The 1975_ reference?” Lauren asks, before she smiles and says, “We have something in common. I like them, too. And- um, I am glad that you are looking to spend time with me in a romantic context, because I thought that’s what this is about.”

“Okay, good,” Camila murmurs, “glad we’re on the same page.”

Lauren blinks in confusion. “Page?”

“Um, well, we both…” Camila pauses, trying to explain, “we both know what we want. With each other.”

“Okay,” Lauren accepts her answer, humming happily. “So, um… I did a little research. Because I thought this was a date. And- and, um, I am supposed to ask you about your interests. So, um… please tell me them.”

Camila bites down on her bottom lip to hide her smile, and holds out her hand. “Come on. I’ll tell you more upstairs.”

Lauren hums, staring down at her hand. After a few moments, she takes it, and lets Camila lead her upstairs and into a bedroom. Camila lets go of her hand to flop down on the bed, but Lauren pauses in the doorway, looking around the room. She zeroes in on the guitars on the wall. “You play guitar?”

“Yeah,” Camila answers, “and piano. And I sing. Do you… do anything musical?”

Camila asks it casually, but really, it’s a make or break question. She could never be with a tone-deaf person.

“I sing sometimes, but not a lot,” Lauren answers, rocking on her heels, “and- um, I also play piano. But not a lot, because my creative special interest is art. But I prefer lions. Do you like lions?”

Camila is indifferent, really, but she smiles. “Yeah. I do.”

“Good,” Lauren answers, “I could not be friends with someone who does not like lions. What is this?”

Camila’s eyes practically pop out of her skull when Lauren points to a plaque on her wall. A plaque that certified her first album platinum. “I- um…”

Lauren walks over to it, and Camila’s heart stops. She tilts her head to the side as she reads the words. “You have an album. That is certified platinum. _Camila…_ ”

Camila bites down on her bottom lip and hopes to _god_ this doesn’t ruin things. She doesn’t want Lauren to treat her differently, to use her for something, to date for the fame and not _her._ “Look, I-”

“Oh! _Camila Cabello!_ My sister went to your concert,” Lauren comments, before she turns around and smiles at Camila. “That’s funny. Anyway, what would you like to do?”

“You don’t care?” Camila blinks in surprise. “It doesn’t… I don’t know… change things?”

“Well, I am not a big fan of your music,” Lauren comments, and Camila has to admit that she’s a _little_ hurt by that. “I have only heard one song, and it was played too much, so it started to annoy me. But I liked it the first time. I will download your album when I get home and listen to it properly, and then I will give you some feedback.”

“I- oh…” Camila frowns, “I don’t…”

“Was your question if I cared that you’re _famous_?” Lauren asks, and Camila just nods dumbly. “Well, no. Not really. I do not like loud spaces, though, so I am afraid that I will not be able to come to your concerts.”

“Oh,” Camila blinks, taking all of that in, “well… that’s okay. I don’t know if I’ll be on tour for a while, anyway. I’m- I’m home for a little while. And I’m staying here to work on my second album because I wanted to be with my family.”

“Oh, okay,” Lauren shrugs, sitting down, “may I tell you a lion fact?”

Camila blinks in surprise. “Sure?”

“Male lions defend the pride’s territory,” Lauren comments, tapping out a pattern against her leg. “And female lions do the hunting. That is funny, because with humans, it’s kind of like the opposite, traditionally. Females stay at home while the males go out and do work. Obviously, it’s different now that we are in a more equal society, but it used to be like that.”

“Why do you like lions so much?” Camila asks, because even if she doesn’t know much about them herself, nor is it really something she’d research, she finds _Lauren_ interesting. And if Lauren likes lions, you best believe Camila is going to listen to her talk about them.

“I don’t know why I like them, I just do,” Lauren answers, before she continues, “a male lion’s mass is generally around 190kg, whereas a female is around 130kg. Obviously, there are outliers, because there always are. Like, the average height for a woman in the USA is 5’4, which I am, but there are lots of outliers because there are lots of women in the USA.”

Camila watches her carefully, the light in Lauren’s eyes as she talks about something she’s interested in reminding her of herself, in a weird way. It makes her think of the way she knows she looks when she’s performing.

“What else do you like?” Camila asks. “You know, how you like lions?”

“Are you asking me about my special interests?” Lauren asks, and Camila just nods dumbly. “My mami likes to call them hyperfixations, which they are, but I don’t like the word _fixation._ Sometimes my mami does a lot of things that annoy me. Like, she used to make me go to a social skills class to learn how to be normal, but I didn’t like it, so I kept ditching until she wouldn’t make me go anymore.”

“Make you…” Camila struggles to take all that in at once, “wait, what do you mean _learn to be normal_? That’s fucked up-”

“It is because I’m autistic, and while I don’t see why it matters, my mami made me go to social skills to help me with interacting with people,” Lauren explains, “apparently I can be overtly blunt, and it may hurt people’s feelings. But I’m not trying to hurt people’s feelings, I just want to be honest.”

Admittedly, it explains the rather overt _I don’t really like your music_ comment, and it makes it much easier to brush it off, because admittedly, it’d been lingering in the back of her mind. She doesn’t know if she’d ever be able to pursue someone who didn’t like her music at least a _little_.

“Okay, well, that’s- it doesn’t matter to me,” Camila answers, “because I think you’re really cute.”

Lauren frowns at her, and Camila wonders if that had been too forward. But then, Lauren just hums and says, “yes, I have been told that I am cute. My best friend, Lucy, sometimes tells me I’m cute when I do particular things. Like, one time, I asked her a question about dating, and she told me it was _sweet_ that I didn’t know and ruffled my hair up. Lucy teaches me social skills sometimes, but not in the condescending way that the social skills teacher did.”

“Honestly, I can kind of relate to you on that one,” Camila laughs, “admittedly, Dinah kind of told me what to say when I thought about asking for your number. I literally _never_ do that; a lot of the time, if I see a cute girl, I sit and drool like an idiot until she leaves and I inevitably never see her again.”

Lauren tilts her head to the side and has the most adorable confused expression on her face. “Why did you talk to me, then?”

“Like I said, Dinah talked me into it,” Camila admits, “honestly, she sort of dragged me about it. She said _if you can perform in front of thousands of people, you can talk to one girl and ask for her number._ But, if I’m being honest, smaller performances scare me more. It feels so much more intimate and there’s a lot more pressure.”

“Oh, yes, I forgot that you do that,” Lauren comments, and Camila smiles a little, biting down on her bottom lip, “well, thank you for asking for my number! I am very glad that you considered me a possible dating candidate.”

Camila’s stomach flips at the words _possible dating candidate_. She doesn’t know why, but if anyone _else_ said something like that, it’d likely be a turn _off_. But for some reason, everything Lauren does is just _adorable_ to her.

“It’s cool,” Camila lamely replies, before she nods towards the door. “Do you want to… I don’t know, cook something together?”

“Yes, that would be thoroughly enjoyable,” Lauren answers, and follows her out of her bedroom and down the stairs again.

Camila pushes open the kitchen door and pauses in thought, before she digs through the freezer and pulls out a big bag of dinosaur nuggets. “This should work. You know, the best thing about being home is my mom’s cooking. Nothing can beat your mom’s cooking.”

“Well, my abuela’s cooking can,” Lauren comments, “my abuela taught me how to cook. And- um, and how to speak. And how to tie my laces, because I don’t have very good motor skills sometimes, so it was hard for me.”

Almost as if she’s reinforcing this, Lauren fumbles to open the packet of dinosaur nuggets, and Camila quickly grabs some scissors and hands her them. Lauren smiles gratefully, before she cuts the bag open and pours a decent amount of nuggets onto a baking tray that Camila gets for her.

“So, um, you said your abuela taught you how to speak?” Camila asks, and Lauren nods. “Didn’t that just… happen? I mean, I don’t really remember learning _how_. I just remember doing it, you know? Like learning how to write songs. I didn’t learn it, it just happened.”

“It is hard for autistic kids to learn to talk, a lot of the time,” Lauren comments, before she watches as Camila puts the nuggets in the oven, along with a tray full of curly fries that she’d opened. Lauren hums, before she sits down on the floor, cross-legged. Camila watches her, a fond smile on her face, before she sits across from Lauren and smiles at her, trying to encourage her to continue. “I couldn’t say many words. Just _hakuna matata_ , _yes, no, mami, papi_ and _abuela_ , but I didn’t even really say those properly.”

“And yet you’ve been talking all cute and formally this entire time,” Camila commends her, but Lauren just frowns, “clearly your abuela works wonders.”

“I did not intend to speak formally. This is just how I talk, as it is easier for me to use correct grammar and sentence structure,” Lauren answers, and Camila deflates a little. “She helped me learn to talk by reading to me and playing with me and making me interact. She would give me rewards if I said a new word, like a cookie. I look up a new word in my thesaurus daily, but she doesn’t give me cookies for it anymore.”

“Damn, that sucks,” Camila answers, smiling a little, “cookies are always a great incentive to do stuff.”

“Yes,” Lauren agrees, before she taps out a pattern on the floor, “are you enjoying our date so far?”

Camila smiles softly; that’s not something anybody would ever ask in the middle of a first date. “Yeah. Why’d you ask?”

“Well, I cannot read your body language unless I am very close to you, and even then, it is challenging for me,” Lauren says, “so I wanted to check, just in case you were not enjoying this. Now- um, tell me about you. Please.”

“Well, there’s not really much to tell,” Camila admits, watching as Lauren hums and taps out a pattern against her leg with her thumb and forefinger. “I moved here from Cuba when I was little. I learned to play guitar when I was pretty young, and started writing dorky little songs. When I was sixteen, I started posting covers online, accumulated a bit of a following, and a talent scout from my record label found my videos. I was seventeen when I got a call, offering me a record deal. I released a few singles and music videos and spent a time working on my album, and then I released that last year. I was eighteen. And then I’ve been touring for the last year, which brings us to now. And _now_ , I’m on a really great date with the cutest girl I’ve ever met.”

Lauren blushes, and Camila is glad she could elicit that reaction, because if she’s being honest, Lauren hadn’t seemed extremely interested. “I don’t think I am that cute. But thank you for saying so. And- um, while I like that you have a very successful career, I was asking more about you outside of that.”

Camila blinks in surprise. Nobody is ever really interested in that. “Oh. Well, um… I like to read, a lot of the time. I don’t like going out to the club or parties, but sometimes I have to appear places like that. PR and stuff. I’m a big fan of _Pretty Little Liars_ and _Stranger Things_ and a lot of other shows, but honestly, I feel like the list is way too long.”

“Yes, I like those shows,” Lauren nods in agreement, “do you like _Game of Thrones?”_

“I’ve watched a few seasons, but I’m not super into it,” Camila says, and Lauren pouts slightly. Camila feels her stomach do about thirty flips in a row. “I’m sorry, I just- you’re really beautiful.”

Lauren brightens, but doesn’t make eye contact with her; she hasn’t all night. “Thank you very much. I think you are very pretty and I think I would like to kiss you.”

Camila is more than a little taken off guard by the statement. “You- you would?”

“Yes, but you also said you wanted to kiss my neck, so I am just expressing a mutual concern,” Lauren tells her, and Camila just wants to kiss her then and there, but Lauren had seemed hesitant about contact, and she didn’t want to just _jump_ the girl and have her run out. “Can we go out for a romantic dinner? I would like you take you on a nice date where I do everything I read in my research. Most of the scenarios involved going to dinner, and I like restaurants when they’re quiet.”

Camila wants to climb up onto the roof and sing _yes_ in every single language, but she hesitates. While she’s not in the closet by any means, she doesn’t know if Lauren is. She _also_ doesn’t want to put Lauren out there, and not because she’d be ashamed to date somebody who is a little different, but because of all the hate she might get. Camila knows that her fans can be… passionate to say the least, and anybody who had been linked to her _slightly_ romantically had received a lot of hate. Lauren seems so sweet and innocent and Camila doesn’t want to put her through that.

“I’d love to, Lauren, I really would,” Camila is quick to assure her, “but I don’t know if that would be the best idea.”

Lauren tilts her head to the side in confusion, and all it does is remind Camila just how innocent she is. “Why?”

“Well… because of the fans,” Camila says, “they’re kind of… intense. And I don’t want them to ruin this by sending you hate and death threats just because you’re dating me.”

“Why would they do that?” Lauren asks, the tapping on her leg becoming rapid. “I did not do anything wrong. I am not bad. I am not stupid. I- I’m not- not weird.”

“No, no, no, it’s not because you’re autistic or anything,” Camila is quick to tell her, not liking the way Lauren is clenching and unclenching her fists. “It’s because they get… intense. I’m not sure if it’s because they want me to date whoever they ship me with, or they want me to date _them_ , but anyone I’m even remotely linked to romantically has gotten hate and I don’t want that to happen to you. I just want to look after you.”

Lauren stares down at the ground, tense. “I- I’m not bad.”

“I know,” Camila says, “I know. I- I think you’re perfect. I just don’t want anybody to make you feel bad, and I know the fans will do that. Obviously not all of them, but the few crazies will. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I just- I just wanted to do something nice and take you out on a proper date, like I’m supposed to,” Lauren mumbles, blinking down at the floor, “I didn’t think it would be a problem. I- um, you could- you could come to my house? And I will- I will make it nice, and set the table so it’s like a restaurant, and- and cook!”

Camila’s stomach flips, and she doesn’t know what she’s done to make this absolute angel like her back, but she knows she isn’t going to let it get ruined. “Okay. Yeah. I’d… I’d really like that.”

Lauren looks up, and for a moment, completely magical green eyes meet Camila’s, and her heart flutters. But then, Lauren looks away, and taps on her leg again. “May I kiss your cheek?”

 _You can kiss me anywhere you want_ , Camila thinks, but she doesn’t say it. Instead, she nods dumbly, mumbling out a small, “yeah,” and when Lauren presses a timid kiss to her cheek, Camila’s stomach does somersaults. She didn’t know she could feel so much from a simple kiss on the cheek.

“I- um, I just want to let you know that,” Lauren bites down on her bottom lip nervously, “I have never been with anybody before. Except- um, I kissed my friend Normani during a game of truth or dare. But that’s it.”

Camila nods, holding out her hand. Lauren hesitates, but she takes it. “That’s okay. I’ve had a girlfriend before, but I’m not exactly an expert in the world of dating. We’ll work it out together.”

“I- um, yes,” Lauren nods, and Camila smiles at her. “We will work it out together.”

_-_

Camila waits a few days to call. She doesn’t want to seem like a stalker.

Lauren picks up on the first ring. _“Hallo.”_

“Hi,” Camila says, melting at Lauren’s greeting. “I don’t even really know why I’m calling, I just… wanted to hear your voice.”

 _“I thought you were upset with me, because you have not called or texted,”_ Lauren says absently, _“I thought that you did not want to come to my house for our fake restaurant date.”_

“No, no, I do,” Camila is quick to rectify; maybe she should’ve thought the whole _not calling_ thing through. “I didn’t call because I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“ _You have not done that,”_ Lauren tells her, before she hums and says, _“would you like to come over tonight for our dinner date? I can go to the grocery store and buy the essential items.”_

“Yeah,” Camila says without thinking, “I’ll come over.”

 _“Okay,”_ Lauren responds, _“Please arrive at approximately six p.m. Goodbye.”_

Camila opens her mouth to say goodbye, but the line cuts out, and she smiles a little at Lauren’s abruptness. She sighs happily and hugs her stuffed animal, Ifos _,_ to her chest. If she’s being honest, it’s kind of a little overwhelming, how much she likes Lauren.

She’s not going to let anything mess it up.

Once it gets to around five thirty, she decides that she’s going to set off to Lauren’s. She sends the girl a text, and then explains to her parents that she’s going to a friend’s house. Sofi, who had been exceptionally clingy these past few days, takes it pretty hard, but Camila manages to break free from her sister and get into the car, telling her mom the directions Lauren had sent.

Her mom makes a few detours, to make sure nobody is following them _and_ to pick up some milk, and when she finally arrives at Lauren’s, she practically sprints to the front door. She’s a little nervous when an older woman opens it. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah… does Lauren live here?” Camila asks, unsure of what she’s going to do if the woman says _no_ , since she’s in a subdivision she’s never been in before. “I’m a friend of hers.”

The woman nods, thankfully, and moves aside to let Camila in, calling Lauren downstairs. When Lauren arrives, two dogs following at her heels like faithful little sidekicks, Camila smiles. _Three puppies_ , she thinks.

“Oh, Camila!” Lauren smiles. “Hi! I am glad you found your way here.”

The woman, who had been looking at Camila for a moment, frowns. “Have we met before?”

“Um… no, I don’t think so,” Camila shakes her head, hoping that she hadn’t been recognised. “But it’s nice to meet you, Mrs…”

She looks to Lauren, but the older girl just smiles at her, rocking on her heels. The woman answers. “Jauregui. But you can call me Clara.”

“Okay,” Camila smiles. “Nice to meet you, Clara.”

“Anyway, um… these are my dogs,” Lauren says as Clara disappears into the lounge. “This one is Dash, and this is Leo! They’re nice and cute and I love them.”

Camila kneels down, and pets the dogs, the smaller of the two a little warier than the other. “I don’t think Dash likes me.”

“No, he’s just frightened by new people.” Lauren comments. “Kind of like me, I guess. Would you like a drink?”

“Sure,” Camila stands up, and Lauren leads her into a kitchen. “You have a nice place.”

“Thank you.” Lauren smiles. “You have a nice… um, everything.”

“Oh, um,” Camila blushes, her stomach tied in knots, “thanks, Lauren.”

“Yes. Would you like a milkshake? I will not be making dinner for a little while,” Lauren asks, oblivious to how nervous Camila is. “We have mix for chocolate and banana.”

“Banana, please,” Camila smiles, and Lauren gets out two glasses. “So- um, I know this is like, kind of weird to say since we’re not really- we’ve only had one date but I feel so much for you already and-”

“Oh my god.”

At the new voice, Camila spins around, and sees another girl, taller than Lauren, but she looks a lot younger. When she glances down, she notices the sweater. Merch she was selling on her last tour.

 _Fuck_ , Camila thinks. She’d forgotten that Lauren’s sister was a fan.

When she realises that, she can’t believe how much of an idiot she’s been. She shouldn’t have come here. She _wouldn’t_ have, if she’d known. If she’d _remembered_ , because Lauren had told her that she’d dropped her sister off at her concert.

“Oh my god,” the girl says again, her eyes wide, “Lauren- I’m not hallucinating, right?”

Lauren frowns, and hands Camila the milkshake she makes. “No, why would you be? Unless you’ve taken drugs, which is very wrong, Taylor, and you shouldn’t take the ones that make you hallucinate. Weed is okay, though. But don’t tell mom I said that, or she’ll be mad at me.”

“But- I- _what the fuck_ ,” The girl, Taylor stares at Camila, and Camila kind of feels like an animal in the zoo. “That’s- _oh my god_. Camila Cabello is standing in my kitchen. _The_ Camila Cabello.”

Lauren looks at her in confusion, and then her eyes widen, too. Camila starts to think that maybe coming here was a bad idea. “Oh! Yes, I forgot that you liked Camz’s music. Anyway, Camz, would you like a snack? Like I said, I will not be making dinner for a little while.”

At Lauren’s words, Camila relaxes a little, because Lauren’s casual, almost _bored_ reaction to her fame and profession will never fail to be adorable to her. “Um… I’m not sure this is the right time for snacks, Lauren. Considering your sister is all… frozen like that.”

“Oh, right,” Lauren clears her throat, “Tay, this is Camila. I met her in a pizza place and she asked for my number, which is funny, because nobody has ever done that before. It was very nice.”

“I _know_ , Laur, she’s _Camila Cabello_ ,” Taylor says, staring at them both, “Oh my god, my big sister is friends with _Camila fucking Cabello_. I _have_ to text my friends about this-”

“Wait!” Camila unfreezes, and feels a little bad when Lauren flinches at her sudden outburst. “Can you- um, not do that? I’ll- I’ll take pictures with you, and sign anything you want me to sign, but I kind of… just wanted a normal day with my friend. If that’s… okay.”

Taylor nods. “Can I join you guys?”

 _Shit_ , Camila thinks _, how am I supposed to hit on a girl with her younger sister watching us the entire time._ She feels like she can’t say no, though, because she hates upsetting her fans. “I mean, I guess-”

“Camila and I were going to have a private date,” Lauren says, “but you can spend time with us another time, I think. But not today, because we are on a date, and I can’t let my little sister come on a date with me. That would be weird.”

“But- but Lauren, you don’t understand,” Taylor quickly continues, before she addresses Camila, “I’ve been following you since your first videos, you’re my _idol_ -”

“Taylor, it is very bad to idolise celebrities,” Lauren informs her casually, “most are very bad role models, because a lot of them to the bad drugs that make you hallucinate, and some are mean to their fans, which is also not nice. And some of them look like they don’t even shower. I think Camz showers, because she smells very nice, but I don’t want you to idolise her, because I am planning on asking her to be my girlfriend tonight, and I don’t want you to idolise my girlfriend. If she says yes.”

Camila bites down on her bottom lip to hide her smile, because that’s the exact same thing she was going to ask Lauren before they were interrupted. “You know, Lo, usually you’d keep something like that a secret. Until you ask me, at least. You know what I mean?”

Lauren frowns down at her feet. “Oh. I’m sorry. I- um, I changed my mind, I’m _not_ asking you to be my girlfriend later.”

It’s not a very convincing lie, and Camila just smiles, a little uncomfortable at how Taylor is still gawking at her. But she’s _not_ about to tell one of her fans to go away.

Lauren, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to care. “Anyway, Taylor, can you leave now?”

Taylor stares at her, jaw working, “Lauren, I can’t, that’s _Camila Cabello_ -”

“Yes, I knew that already, when I saw her plaque on her bedroom wall,” Lauren announces, rocking on her heels, “but I didn’t know at first, because she told me her name was Karla.”

“It wasn’t a lie,” Camila blurts out, because she doesn’t want Lauren to think their possible relationship is founded on a lie. “My first-”

“Her first name is Karla, Lauren,” Taylor says like it’s obvious, “and anyway, why should I leave, you don’t even like her, you said _Havana_ was annoying.”

“Yes, you played it too much and it annoyed me, but I listened to your other songs, Camz, and I liked them a lot,” Lauren smiles at her, “I liked _All These Years_ and _Consequences_ especially.”

“Wait, you- you met at a _pizza place_? I paid _over a hundred dollars_ to meet you and- and my sister meets you for free at a pizza place?” Taylor stares at her, and Camila kind of wishes she’d go away now. “That’s- she wasn’t the _cute girl_ you dedicated a song to, was she?”

Camila smiles sheepishly. “Yeah. She was.”

Lauren beams before Taylor can get her answer out. “You dedicated a song to me? Which one?”

“ _Never Be The Same_ ,” Taylor answers for her, and Lauren hums, mumbling something about how she likes that one. “I- I can’t- _Camila Cabello_ is dating my sister…”

“Well, since you will not leave, we will,” Lauren announces, grabbing Camila and pulling her out of the room so fast that Camila almost drops her milkshake everywhere. The two dogs follow them upstairs, and Lauren flops down on her bed, letting out a distressed whine. “I am sorry. I do not think we will be able to sit downstairs for dinner like I had planned, and I set the table and everything…”

“It’s okay,” Camila quickly assures her, “really. I don’t care where we are. As long as I’m hanging out with you.”

Lauren sighs. “It is not what I had planned, and it is making me sad.”

“It’s _okay_ ,” Camila smiles, “I promise.”

“Yes, okay, you promise,” Lauren mumbles to herself, before she glances up at Camila and announces, “I am sorry that I ruined the surprise. I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend, because my mami explained to me that just because I went on one date with you, doesn’t mean I’m your girlfriend, and I like you very much.”

Camila bites down on her bottom lip. “I like you very much too.”

“I, um, yes,” Lauren blushes, tapping out a pattern, “can I kiss you?”

Camila hums. “I’d _really_ like that.”

Lauren pauses, hands going towards Camila’s waist, but halting halfway. She drops them back in her lap again, and frowns down, muttering something about how she doesn’t know where to put them, so Camila shuffles forwards, gently cups Lauren’s jaw with her hands, and guides her into a tentative kiss.

Lauren squeaks in surprise, but kisses back, and it’s soft and innocent and sweet and the butterflies in Camila’s tummy can’t seem to get enough. Lauren’s hands finally settle on her waist, holding her steady, and Camila sighs in content against her, finally pulling away.

“I liked that,” Lauren tells her, and Camila laughs a little. “What? I did.”

“Thanks for the good review,” Camila jokingly responds, “and Lauren?”

“Yes?”

“…I’d love to be your girlfriend.”


End file.
